Tornadoes spotted in Louisiana, Mississippi

Residents, motorists alerted to widespread flooding

Nasty weather has settled in on much of Louisiana and Mississippi, with tornado watches in both states and flash flood watches in southeast Louisiana and much of Mississippi.

The National Weather Service said the bad weather is likely to stretch into Fat Tuesday in southeast Louisiana. Jefferson Parish has canceled a Monday night parade.

In Jackson, storms south of Interstate 20 were dumping a lot of rain, with nearly 3 inches by early afternoon near Vicksburg and 1 to 2 inches in Jackson. More rain is expected Monday and Tuesday.

There were reports of tornadoes touching down in two counties.

Authorities in Lawrence and Marion counties said tornadoes have been spotted in their areas and have touched down in some areas. Officials said they've received reports of homes damaged and trees down in several communities, but no one has been reported injured.

Widespread flooding was seen in Jackson on Sunday as the rainmaker moved through the area, authorities said.

Authorities said the water came up so fast on a street right off Highway 18 in south Jackson, the driver had to climb to the roof of her car. At one point, water was up to car windows, but the driver finally jumped to higher ground.

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